I was wondering if any RSL'ers practice any of the martial arts. I took Kenpo classes for a while when I was at Weber State and loved it but that was ages ago. Lately I've felt something in me is lacking and I've thought about getting back into it. Anyone else out there studying one of the many fighting arts? Although instead of Kenpo I think I'm leaning towards Aikido. If anybody practices a martial art I'd love to find out how you chose the one you did and if it has helped you in your daily life. Thanks.
I don't know karate, but I know ka-razy. (Also, considering taking Krav Maga up at the U. It's backed by the Krav Maga Federation, and I like that particular martial art due to its emphasis on real-world utility and integration of skills from many different fighting styles. Probably won't do it this coming semester due to money troubles, but hopefully for the spring.)
Right on Lurpy, good luck with the money situation. I'm kind of in the same boat, its hard to fork out roughly a $100 a month for classes when the money could go towards so many other things. But if you are ever in a situation where you need to defend yourself or a loved one then it is certainly worth it. I'm going to try and start something in the spring also.
I once had Aikido practiced on me. Ever since then, I've told myself that was the only martial art I ever needed to consider. Krav Maga sounds great, too. Maybe I should trade in my bicycling hobby...
I took Karate Shin-Toshi when I was younger, but I got frustrated with how long it took to "level up" in the belt system. I also became frustrated with the fact that we learned new moves at a slow pace, and I was eager to learn as much as I could as fast as I could (I'm ADD and hyper active. I could only take doing a crow's fist so many times before I became bored). Needless to say, I didn't last very long at that dojo in Kaysville. From what I've read over the years, Aikido seems to be a faster version of Taichi. It focuses on being in harmony with your attacker and using their movements to stop and put down an attacker (without inflicting permanent injury), instead of simply blocking and diffusing the fight like many other martial arts do. I've wanted to learn this style for a while, but have never had the time to do it. Now that I'm finished with school I may have to pursue it. Tae-Kwon-Do and Kenpo seem to be the styles that most people start with due to their focus on defense. They also seem to work well as a launching pad to get into other styles. Let me know if you find a good place to enroll.
Thanks for the info SenordrummeR2. Well, I've narrowed my search down to two Kenpo schools. Yeah, I know I said I wasn't looking at Kenpo but for some reason it is calling me back. I decided against Aikido mostley because it seems like everything in Aikido is done with a partner. It doesn't seem like a martial art that you can practice on your own which I want to do because I want to incorporate it into a workout schedule along with some running and weightlifting. Here are the two Aikido schools I was looking into though. Both are in Salt Lake. http://www.utahaiki.com/ http://www.saltlakeaiki.org/ Then my mind switched to Shotokan Karate. I liked that it is traditional and big on doing katas which would be something I could do on my own time. But every school I looked at seemed to be over-run with kids. Taking your kids to karate class apparently has replaced taking your kids to the babysitter. And I really don't feel like training with a bunch of kids that could be, well, my kids. So I've gone back to Kenpo. I have found a school that is adult only. http://www.arrowheadkenpo.com/ Before I sign up though with them I am going to check out one more Kenpo school just so I have a comparrison of prices, classes, etc. Although this second school also teaches children per their website they keep them in seperate classes. http://www.utkenpo.com/index.html The only drawback with this system is they have incorporated some grappling into the system and I'm not really down with having another dude laying on top of me. So that's were I'm at at the moment.
Ok, after months of bouncing back and forth and looking at numerous martial arts schools it has been decided, I am going to start taking Krav Maga classes. It has been a fun journey, I did a lot of looking around at different martial arts schools on the internet, I went to several and checked out their locations late at night while driving home from work, and I went to a couple while they had classes in session to check them out live. I decided against Karate mostly because it was just too hard to find a karate class that wasn't over-run with kids. Unfortunatley I also had to decide against Kenpo, my first choice, mostly because one of the schools was almost impossible to find, and the other one I went to didn't seem to eager to accept new students. Then just out of dumb luck I stumbled across a Krav Maga class in Lehi, (close to Pleasant Grove where I currently reside) which seems to be a good fit for me and for what I am looking for.
I had first ruled out Krav Maga, eventhough it teaches what I am looking for which is practical self defense, due to it seemed like most of the people studying it were guys amped up on energy drinks looking for a street fight. But when I looked into it further I got the feeling it was probably going to be a lot of guys like myself, a little overweight but wanting to get in shape, and people wanting to learn to defend themselves. It looks like a lot of women take Krav Maga too, (Krav Maga is great for rape prevention), and Jennifer Lopez' movie "Enough" probably led a lot of them to Krav since that is the martial art she learns in the movie. And lucky for me the school in Lehi just recently relocated to Pleasant Grove just a few blocks from where I live. I think this was meant to be. www.kravutah.com
Change of plans, Krav Maga is out, Kenpo is in! Tonight I go to my first Kenpo class. Long story, I will share it later. Oh, and a week ago today was my 10 year anniversary here on BigSoccer. Should I be happy or sad about that?
